Lately my former teammates from my Italian Pro League days in the early 1980s, have been resurfacing into my life through Facebook of all places. Paulo Rossi, my setter, is now a coach, Massimo Raffaldi, is a doctor, and Giuseppe Gallina - whose family owned the most delicious pastry stop in the country ( a must stop on the way back from practice en route to the train station) just got married. It has been a hoot to reconnect, force out my written Spitalian (that is Spanish interwoven with Italian, to keep my old friends guessing), and to reach back in time to those two wonderful years where I based in Camolgi on the Mediterranean sea (one town up the coast from Portofino, a place most have heard of) in a magical penthouse apartment - Via Del Isola 22. Out the bathroom window, the clothesline attached to a 1,000 year old castle wall. Out the front window, you could toss a piece of popcorn into the harbor.

One of the phrases I learned there, in story told about Michelangelo, was that he said when he was 87 - "Ancora Imparo" - Still I am learning. It is the way great teachers stay great, and great coaches too. So I keep sharing, as part of growing the game, books that have impacted my life. I brought out copies of my favorite 20 books to last month's CAP III group of 17 coaches, and spoke about how each one was impacting my work. One of them was a book by Carol Dweck a Stanford professor. I first became aware of her research though my work with the Positive Coaching Alliance, where I am an instructor. Jim Thompson shared several things, from her new book, at the time, as this was 2006, called Mindset.

A list of the table of contents helps you see what you are getting into, so here it is:

The Mindsets

Why Do People Differ?

What Does This All Mean For You?

A View From The Two Mindsets

So, What's New?

Self-Insight: Who Has Accurate Views Of Their Assets And Limitations?

What's In Store

Inside the Mindsets

Is Success About Learning-Or Proving You're Smart?

Mindsets Change The Meaning Of Failure

Mindsets Change The Meaning Of Effort

Questions And Answers

The Truth About Ability and Accomplishment

Mindsets And School Achievement

Is Artistic Ability A Gift?

The Danger Of Praise And Positive Labels

So it was a nice surprise to see the USOC share this article in their newest issue of Olympic Coach, a magazine from the Performance Services department which by way of linking onour MVP CDs on Growing the Game, we have been signing up hundreds of coaches to free of charge...as should you if you are not already on the list.

Here is the article, read it and be yet learning... I know I will be reading all the way this week to and from the Dominican Republic on the many flights it takes to get there, for my NORCECA Tech/Coaches meetings - Kessel